BRICS leaders oppose 'punitive, discriminatory' carbon border taxes

New Delhi: BRICS leaders on Saturday opposed unilateral, punitive and discriminatory measures such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs), saying such steps undermine efforts of developing countries to address climate change issues.

A CBAM is an additional import duty on carbon-intensive goods based on the emissions generated during their manufacturing. The European Union (EU) and the UK have announced their plans to impose this carbon tax.

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"We oppose unilateral, punitive, discriminatory and protectionist measures that are not in line with international law, such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms, and express concern that such measures undermine efforts by countries, specifically the developing countries, aimed at addressing the adverse impacts of climate change, increasing adaptive capacity and resilience," according to the New Delhi Declaration.

Exports of goods which could be affected due to the carbon tax include iron and steel products, cement, fertiliser, and aluminium items.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPRs)

The leaders agreed to further expand exchanges and collaboration in the areas of IP awareness promotion, capacity building, IP commercialization, patent examination process, traditional knowledge, Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (GIs) and AI application among the BRICS IP Offices on mutually agreed terms.

"We recognise the importance of collaborating on promoting respect for the intellectual property rights used in the digital environment, including for artificial intelligence training purposes, as well as fair remuneration to right holders, while respecting the needs and priorities of developing countries," the Declaration said.

With the rise of application of AI (artificial intelligence), it said that leaders recognised risks relating to misappropriation and misrepresentation of knowledge, heritage, and cultural values that are insufficiently represented in data sets and AI models.

GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS (GVCs)

The leaders reiterated the importance of cooperation to ensure that Global Value Chains (GVCs) are resilient, efficient, predictable, productive, transparent, secure, fair, stable and inclusive.

They expressed their intention to explore the potential of mutually reinforcing policy levers to enhance intra-BRICS trade.

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To promote digitisation in GVCs, they called for encouraging technical cooperation to foster opportunities for trade facilitation, capacity building, critical infrastructure, industrial capacities, enhanced connectivity, IP protection, and promotion and acceleration of safe, secure and affordable access to technology.

"We support the implementation of the Workplan on BRICS Shared Understanding on GVCs and welcome the further development of the BRICS GVC Action Plan 2026-2030," it said.

The leaders suggested to harness the potential of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of the BRICS members as well established mechanisms for promoting trade, investment, industrial cooperation, innovation, and integration into resilient and sustainable GVCs, by providing enterprises with an enabling business environment, efficient infrastructure, and streamlined regulatory procedures.

"We aim to build cooperation in connectivity and trade facilitation inter alia digitisation of trade documentation for stakeholders to operate in a more efficient, transparent, and seamless environment, taking into consideration different capacities of each BRICS Member," it said.

"We acknowledge that BRICS members represent a broad diversity of societies and civilisations that are affected differently by unjustified unilateral protectionist measures inconsistent with WTO rules, and that BRICS should focus on promoting a just and fair, stable and predictable environment for mutually beneficial sustainable development."

They also agreed to work towards broader and more equitable participation of developing countries and emerging markets in higher-value-added segments of global manufacturing and production, including through promoting trade and investment initiatives, technical cooperation, promotion of productive capacities and technology transfer in line with each members' respective laws, regulations and policies.